I am purchasing a house without a mortgage in Tooting. I have resided for the previous 20 years in Tooting. Conveyancing searches are a lot of money. Given that I know the road and vicinity intimately should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?
In the absence of a mortgage, then all but one or two of the Tooting conveyancing searches are at your discretion. Your solicitor will ’encourage you, perhaps strongly, that you should have searches done, but he is duty bound to do this. Do consider; if you are intend to sell the house at a future date, it could be of relevance to your future purchaser what the searches contain. Sometimes properties with day to day issues can still show up negative search results. A competent conveyancing solicitor in Tooting should provide you some practical guidance in this regard.
There is lots of information on this site regarding conveyancing in Tooting but what is your top tip for selecting the right conveyancer in Tooting
It would be unwise to be tempted by the lowest Tooting conveyancing fees. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.
We expect to receive a DIP from TSB this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do TSB recommend any Tooting solicitors on the TSB conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Tooting solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the TSB conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and TSB through the process.
I currently have a mortgage with Santander for my property in Tooting. Conveyancing has been completed 12 months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Santander?
Santander must be informed of your intention in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Santander’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Santander will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Santander directly. You need not do this via a Santander conveyancing panel lawyer.
Will my conveyancer be raising enquiries about flooding during the conveyancing in Tooting.
Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers conducting conveyancing in Tooting. Some people will purchase a house in Tooting, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that can be carried out by the buyer or by their conveyancers which will figure out the risks in Tooting. The conventional set of property information forms sent to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a standard inquiry of the owner to find out whether the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that the property has been flooded in past and is not revealed by the owner, then a buyer could commence a claim for damages as a result of such an inaccurate reply. A buyer’s solicitors should also commission an environmental search. This will disclose if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional inquiries should be initiated.
In what way can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my commercial property in Tooting and how can your lawyers assist?
The particular law that you refer to provides a safeguard to business leaseholders, granting the a statutory right to make a request to court for a continuation of occupancy at the end of an expired lease. There are limited grounds that a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are involved. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Tooting is one of our hundreds of locations in which the firms we work with are based
As co-executor for the will of my aunt I am disposing of a house in Swansea but reside in Tooting. My conveyancer (approximately 250 miles awayhas requested that I execute a stat dec prior to completion. Could you suggest a conveyancing lawyer in Tooting to attest this legal document for me?
strictly speaking you are unlikely to need to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or qualified solicitor will do regardless of whether they are located in Tooting
I wish to sublet my leasehold apartment in Tooting. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?
Your lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Tooting do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.
I own a basement flat in Tooting. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount due for the purchase of the freehold?
Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to arrive at the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Tooting residence is 14 Nutwell Street in January 2014. The premium payable for the acquisition of a new lease of the subject premises was in the sum of £30,523 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 62.94 years.
